Athens Lessons

This book presents the work of Prof. Gugger’s lapa studio (EPFL) in collaboration with Prof. Kourkoulas’ studio (NTUA) on urban issues in contemporary Athens. The study was undertaken in 2010 / 2011 when Greece in general faced the beginning of an important economic crisis. This situation aggravated existing problems such as an insufficient public transport network, urban decay in certain neighborhoods and the explosive growth of illegal immigrants living in difficult conditions in the city center. Due to the important role of immigration in the development of Athens, and the recent rise in immigration, this issue was given special importance. This project was spread over two semesters. The first part covers an analysis and the elaboration of an ‘urban constitution’ – a long term plan – for the future development of Athens. Part 2 covers architectural projects that implement the urban constitution and test it as a framework as well as a collection of essays by experts in the field.